Movie Reviews

Miss the subtitles

Lawrence S. Shell | Marquette, MI USA | 07/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love this movie and my only issue is that the VCR version, subtitled when the characters spoke French - some very amusing asides are lost in the DVD version because the French is not subtitled. Otherwise, I can't recommend it enough."

A Brittle Film About Paris In The 1920's

H. F. Corbin | ATLANTA, GA USA | 02/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Director Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" is all about Paris in the 1920's and captures the cafe society, the American expatriates, the artists and the pretentiousness and shallowness of the times. Keith Carradine is an American artist who cannot make a living and is obsessed with Rachel (Linda Fiorentino) who is married to a boorish businessman Bert Stone (John Lone) who has made his fortune in condoms. The plot has enough surprises to keep you interested most of the time, although the film, for all its beautiful cinematography and attention to detail, ultimately is a bit slow.

Fictional characters intermingle with Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Alice to give the film a feeling of authenticity. Genevieve Bujold plays a gallery owner and Geraldine Chaplin is a wealthy heiress who convinces Nick to copy masterpieces. The movie belongs to Keith Carradine and Linda Fiorentino, however, who have one of the hottest sex scenes in a bathtub that you'll ever see. It sizzles. This is one of those films that you like much more after you've had time to mull over it."